My Favorite Antiques on the Market
and some other good things
Internet browsing into the wee hours of the morning (plus a bonus hour of it this weekend) yields a treasure trove of antiques and vintage finds. With the stress of the impending election, maybe it’s best to immerse oneself in the beauty of the craftsmanship of yore. While some items may be out of budget, one can still appreciate the finer things in life, even from the confines of your tiny handheld computer.
Pair of Painted Cast Iron Garden Planter Urns
If I wasn’t blessed with a sloped piazza, these would be in my cart.
Hand-Painted Chinoiserie Wallpaper Mounted on Board
The pièce de résistance for any room lucky enough to possess this generously-sized work of art.
$9,800 Chop it up into a few pillows! Use it as the top of an ottoman! Frame it! Frankly, dear, I don’t give a damn.
Ming-Style Cinnabar Lacquer Coffee Table
I pitched this to a client. Their loss is your gain.
$7,200 Every room needs a pop of red. No exceptions.
$388 Break out the OxiClean and wake up thinking you’re in the Stockholm archipelago.
$595 Darling, but not twee.
$1,400 Silverplate Greek Key Cream and Sugar Set
It’s fun to pretend you’d use these.
$225 Vintage French Dining Table with Iron Base
A niche analogy: If Rose Uniacke’s drapers table had an affair with a Frenchman on a Spanish holiday, this table would be the yield.
$4,200 Carved Marble Shell Sink Basin
Paired with Barber Wilsons wall-mounted taps for a clever powder room solution.
$1,275 Gerry Bland can do no wrong. The upholstery details are perfect.
Inquire for pricing
If you are so inclined, you can see my house and a smattering of my own antiques in the newly released Southern Interiors: A Celebration of Personal Style, the brainchild of the dynamic Tori Mellott. I am a longtime admirer of greats Stan Dixon, James Carter, Beth Webb, and Suzanne Kasler, whose homes also appear. Bonus: I will be having a conversation with Tori and John Pope (also featured in the book) at the Charleston Library Society on December 3rd.
And a few good things:
How fortunate we are that the release of Shrinking’s season 2 falls within my family’s Apple TV season. I unsubscribe for the majority of the year and jump back on the bandwagon come Fall for the various Charlie Brown holiday specials. (To perpetuate this tangent, this is my background noise of late. I don’t have Spotify. Sue me.) A feel-good dramedy with no filler, Shrinking alternates a few comic setups (anchored by a through line of grief) throughout its half hour episodes like a bygone sitcom.
Experts say limiting screen time increases melatonin, but they must not have studied the effects of Dessert Person. My child’s television exposure is typically restricted to Friday night movie night, but I have been making an exception to stream Claire Saffitz’s YouTube videos post-dinner. Claire gallantly undertakes recreating childhood favorites such as Zebra Cakes, Oatmeal Cream Pies, and Uncrustables from scratch.
I used to feign illness to stay home from school to watch Martha Stewart Living, and I was a devotee of Martha Stewart Kids, the short-lived publication of the early aughts pandering to Martha’s youngest fans. And the Halloween costumes I make for my daughter have been inspired exclusively from back issues of Martha Stewart’s discontinued magazine. I have had the distinct pleasure of existing within her presence twice: once in Maine at her 80th birthday dinner (I was just a lucky restaurant patron) and again in Connecticut this past spring at Trade Secrets. She and a family member of mine have a mutual dislike of one another, but I am unabashed by my love of the doyenne of domesticity and I devoured her eponymous Netflix special.
Murdle is the late night or early morning entertainment solution for when you have exhausted all of The New York Times games and you are still wide awake/your alarm has not sounded.
Buzzy Vatican thriller was not on my 2024 bingo card. I would not recommend Conclave, but I also would not not recommend Conclave. A friend lured me to the theater with the promise of Stanley Tucci while failing to mention the movie’s plot: Roman Catholic cardinals sequestered as they elect a new pope. The cast is stacked (Ralph Fiennes, John Lithgow, and Isabella Rosselini), and the set designer knocked it out of the park creating an ecclesiastical world (without having any physical filming access to the Vatican!) comprised of austere marble-clad papal apartments juxtaposed against the vibrant Sistine Chapel.
Sarah Paulson is unhinged in the best way, and I was happy to stumble across this podcast episode for a recent flight.
This probably says more about me than it does John Mayer, but this is the best meme I’ve seen in a while.
I broke out of a meal plan rut and delighted my family with this easy and delicious recipe: Sheet pan honey-roast chicken, carrots, and brussels sprouts with tahini yogurt.
Don’t forget to vote!!!
xx
A joy to read, as always. I also loved the Martha doc - made for a wonderful Sunday night unwind!